"It's officially true: Hewlett-Packard is back in the mobile race. Today, HP is announcing its first Android product: the HP Slate 7. But it looks like the company won't be making a splash right away: Starting at $169.99, the new device will launch this April with a fairly unimpressive set of specs." As I've been working my behind off on a huge Palm article, HP turns around and slaps this thing in my face. You had one job, HP.

@leos: I don't think I was clear above. What I meant... when you have a big player enter the arena, other players may need to do more to differentiate their products. Instead of a keyboard dockable 8" tablet (with bells & whistles) at $600, we could see this mythical beast listed at $400. We might see two similar low-spec devices with the only difference being the aspect-ratio. It's a ripple effect.

Bargain basement shoppers will buy low-end from a more reputable source (with support) and those who shop by specs will have an increasing variety in the upper range as companies consider other market strategies.

This past Christmas, a cousin of mine refused to pay for Google's Nexus 7 ($200, Taxes, Shipping, faceless-entity, questionable support) or a Samsung 7" (about the same price last time I checked). He opted for a $129 Chinese knock-off (no google play) at a **local store** (local, walk-in support was his preference) - despite my strong warnings against the brand. My brother-in-law, who now hates his iPad, refused to consider the higher-end 10.1" Android tablets and I wasn't about to suggest a generic overseas brand. Price was his motivation after having felt burned by his Apple purchase and a name-brand with decent reviews was my motivation.

HP's entry changes the purchasing dynamics for consumers and strengthens the lower-end of the market in the short-term. In the long-term, if they continue to invest and other companies react, WE end up with better options throughout the entire spectrum of devices (low-end to high-end) from different and more reputable sources.